Digital Transformation in Healthcare

ScienceSoft starts any healthcare transformation project with an in-depth analysis of the following aspects:

• A healthcare provider's overall business situation, goals, and needs.
• Current clinical and administrative processes, relevant KPIs, challenges, and improvement opportunities.
• IT infrastructure and existing software of a healthcare provider, their constraints and transformation potential.
• Regulatory compliance requirements, e.g., HIPAA in the US or GDPR in the EU.

At ScienceSoft, this stage covers:

• Determining long-term digital transformation goals and prioritizing them based on the costs and the expected measurable value. For instance, the goal could be improving patient outcomes, and the expected value could be reducing readmission rates by 10%.
• Dividing long-term digital transformation goals into clear short-term objectives and determining a set of time-framed initiatives to achieve these objectives. For example, achieving a long-term hospital digital transformation goal of improved patient outcomes may involve such objectives as enhancing diagnostic accuracy or increasing patient access to healthcare services. The corresponding initiatives may include implementing AI-powered medical diagnosis software or a telemedicine app.
• Introducing a step-by-step action plan for the project of digitization in healthcare, which may include:
  • Planning the required modernization of the existing IT infrastructure (cloud migration, IT infrastructure automation, implementation of advanced cybersecurity tools, etc.) and evolution of legacy software (rearchitecting, code refactoring, tech stack modernization, implementation of new functional modules).
  • Preparing a feature set for the new healthcare software, including capabilities powered by advanced techs (AI, IoMT, big data, etc.).
  • Designing a secure, scalable, high-performing architecture for new healthcare software.
  • Creating a plan of integrations with existing software (e.g., EHR, CRM, HIE, LIS, RIS, RCM), external services and tools (user authentication services, etc.), and third-party systems (e.g., health insurers’ systems).
  • Designing role-specific UX and UI (e.g., for doctors, administrative staff, and patients) for new healthcare applications. Designers must consider the unique needs of each role, such as quick access to patient history for physicians, streamlined scheduling tools for administrative staff, and intuitive appointment booking for patients. Designers also focus on making the solutions accessible for users with visual, auditory, or cognitive impairments. For example, they ensure the solution’s compatibility with screen readers and implement other accessibility features required by WCAG.
  • Selecting the best-fitting tech stack to implement the project.
  • (optional) Developing a proof of concept (PoC) to assess the viability of innovative healthcare software (e.g., for AI-powered healthcare solutions).

At this stage, ScienceSoft delivers a detailed project plan that comprises:

• Project deliverables, timelines, budget, and ROI estimates at the level of the entire project and each particular transformation initiative.
• Critical milestones, objectives, and KPIs for each transformation initiative.
• The project team and collaboration workflows.
• Short-term and long-term transformation plans for gradual implementation of digital transformation initiatives and training of medical and administrative staff.
• A risk mitigation strategy and plan.

At this stage, ScienceSoft's team implements the planned digital transformation initiatives. The key implementation steps may comprise the following:

• IT infrastructure modernization, including migration to the cloud (e.g., to Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare or other HIPAA-compliant clouds) and a tech stack revamp of legacy healthcare software.
• Custom healthcare software development. Developers apply best practices for reducing development costs, such as using ready-made components and services from reputable cloud providers (e.g., Azure, Amazon, Google Cloud) and introducing DevOps practices.
• Quality assurance of healthcare software (covering functional, usability, and performance tests) typically runs in parallel with development to catch defects early and prevent them from slipping into final software builds.
• Security and compliance testing of healthcare software and its infrastructure (including HIPAA compliance testing).
• Integration with relevant internal (e.g., EHR, LIS, RIS) and third-party systems (e.g., systems of long-term care facilities or insurers’ systems).
• Implementing advanced healthcare data analytics to monitor and forecast operational and financial metrics, track health outcomes, or provide clinical decision support for the medical staff.
• Data migration from the previously used healthcare tools.
• Automated deployment of healthcare software to the production environment.

To ensure smooth knowledge transfer and fast adoption of the new system among medical and administrative staff, ScienceSoft experts:

• Prepare comprehensive technical software documentation for the IT team for future software maintenance and evolution.
• Compose user manuals and training materials for physicians and the administrative staff.
• Conduct employee training in the format preferred by the care provider (remote, in-person, hybrid).
• Handle solution maintenance and user support for 1–3 months after delivery.
• Provide continuous software maintenance, evolution, and employee support as separate services on a client’s demand.